The court came into being on 1 July 2002 — the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, entered into force — and it can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date. The official seat of the court is in The Hague, Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere.

As of March 2009, 108 states are members of the Court; A further 40 countries have signed but not ratified the Rome Statute. However, a number of states, including China, Russia, India and the United States, are critical of the court and have not joined.

The ICC can generally exercise jurisdiction only in cases where the accused is a national of a state party, the alleged crime took place on the territory of a state party, or a situation is referred to the court by the United Nations Security Council. The court is designed to complement existing national judicial systems: it can exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute such crimes. Primary responsibility to investigate and punish crimes is therefore left to individual states.

To date, the court has opened investigations into four situations: Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur. The court has issued public arrest warrants for thirteen people; seven of them remain free, two have died, and four are in custody. The ICC's first trial, of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, began on 26 January 2009.

Impunity, weak institutions, and a lack of accountability have prompted more than 1 million Afghans to submit statements on alleged atrocities to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is still weighing whether to initiate a war crimes investigation. While Haidari, father of seven, recovers in the hospital,ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said there is no chance of him going on trial at the International Criminal Court because "not in a million years" would it have jurisdiction to indict him. The fiery-tempered leader is the subject of a Philippine lawyer's complaint to the ICC accusing him ofÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

"The crime against humanity of murder allegedly perpetrated by state actors therefore falls under the jurisdiction and is cognizable by the International Criminal Court, inasmuch as the continuing mass murders occurred after November 1, 2011," he said. The Philippines is the 117th state party to the treatyÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

By Anthony Wesaka. Kampala -- Sacked Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, has been taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over crimes against humanity that he allegedly committed along with his men when they forcefully deported a group of Rwandan nationals back to Rwanda.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Since the International Criminal Court began collecting material three months ago for a possible war crimes case involving Afghanistan, it has gotten a staggering 1.17 million statements from Afghans who say they were victims. The statements include accounts of alleged atrocitiesÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

But if May's words mean anything, he should now campaign for Min Aung Hlaing to be called before the international criminal court. Yes, it is the case that particular countries will protest against such action, namely Russia and China. However, Britain should call this out for what it is and take a leadershipÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

(CNN) The International Criminal Court is looking into allegations of excessive force and other abuses by Venezuela's government in response to sometimes deadly anti-regime protests, its prosecutor said Thursday. The "preliminary examination" by the Netherlands-based tribunal is the first step towardÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

WE missed the big story in our last issue about the sensitive announcement made by the Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court (ICC) because the news arrived late for our issue that week. The ICC has decided to look into allegations of extrajudicial killings in the native countryÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Eiko Kawasaki, an ethnic Korean woman who spent 43 years in North Korea, announced a plan Friday to file a petition with the International Criminal Court to declare Pyongyang's postwar repatriation program a crime against humanity. According to Kyodo News, from 1959 to 1984 about 93,000 peopleÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

On 15 February 2018, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (www.CoalitionForTheICC.org) launched its commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute - the founding treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) (www.ICC-CPI.int) - with an event held at the seat ofÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Kabul, Afghanistan -- Since the International Criminal Court began collecting material three months ago for a possible war crimes case involving Afghanistan, it has gotten a staggering 1.17 million statements from Afghans who say they were victims. The statements include accounts of alleged atrocitiesÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

In 1998, representatives of most of the world's governments assembled in Rome and adopted a treaty, known as the Rome Statute, calling for the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court ( ICC ). For many of those active in the international human rights movement, this was the peak achievementÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Manila (AFP) - Philippinepolice said on Wednesday (Feb 14) they have adopted special measures, including body cameras, to reduce violence in anti-narcotics operations as the International Criminal Court investigates allegations of thousands of extrajudicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's drugÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

But if May's words mean anything, he should now campaign for Min Aung Hlaing to be called before the International Criminal Court. Yes, it is the case that particular countries will protest against such action, namely Russia and China. However, Britain should call this out for what it is and take a leadershipÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

This article contains violent and disturbing images. Viewer discretion advised. While Mahmoud Werfalli is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the war crime of murder, the commander of the Saiqa Brigade has continued conducting executions in Libya. Bellingcat has extensively discussedÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

When Donald Trump stood before the US Congress last month to deliver his State of the Union speech, two Britons suspected of bring part of ISIL's brutal execution squad nicknamed "The Beatles" were already in the custody of Syrian rebels. Their capture adds greater resonance to Mr Trump's promise thatÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

(CNN) The International Criminal Court is looking into allegations of excessive force and other abuses by Venezuela's government in response to sometimes deadly anti-regime protests, its prosecutor said Thursday. The "preliminary examination" by the Netherlands-based tribunal is the first step towardÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

It was the first International Criminal Court to be established after the experiences of Nuremberg and Tokyo, restoring hope that the perpetrators of international crimes could be prosecuted even outside their own state. It is not surprising, therefore, that those who care about the defence of human rights haveÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

His nemeses in exile similarly present another front of opposition to his government. Most recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has instigated a preliminary probe into possible crimes against humanity in Burundi. Evidently overwhelmed, Nkurunziza'a immediate recourse to counter these threats isÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Last week, the judicial year began for the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), in tandem with the first celebrations honouring the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC as a permanent court. With the statute turning 20 in July,ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Tripoli, Libya - The United Nations on Thursday demanded the immediate surrender of a Benghazi commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges after evidence emerged suggesting he had carried out new summary executions in Libya. Mahmoud al-Werfalli commandsÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

... as being directly involved in fighting. The recruitment and use of children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities, is recognized as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. This prohibition applies to both governmental groups and non-state armed groups.

It also includes "providing referral on various issues (settlement, prisoners, aggression on Gaza) to the International Criminal Court." Erekat stressed the need for "active intervention and playing a role with a political weight from the world's great powers, such as China and Russia, through providingÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki shows documents as he enters the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2015. (AP). According to an Israeli television news report on January 9, 2018,[1] the Israeli prime minister's National Security Council recently cautioned theÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

KAMPALA - Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has deactivated 2,640 accounts from the list of Value Added tax (VAT) taxpayers, among them that of the International Criminal Court (ICC), after they failed to honour their tax obligations. The taxpayers include companies, business entities (both local andÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

ICTY inspired the creation of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court. There has also been a demand to have similar international crimes tribunals for Sri Lanka and Israel. The ICTY has set a benchmark for future prosecutions in otherÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

President Anthony Carmona has accepted an invitation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to address its first ceremonial opening of the court's judicial year on January 18 at The Hague, Netherlands. A release from the Office of the President said that Carmona has been honoured by the ICC with anÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

None of this is to suggest that there haven't been shocking genocides and terrible crimes against humanity in Africa, but the continent does have a reasonable record of active participation in, and support for, the ICC. Of 123 countries who are parties to the International Criminal Court, 33 are African states.

None of this is to suggest that there haven't been shocking genocides and terrible crimes against humanity in Africa, but the continent does have a reasonable record of active participation in, and support for, the ICC. Of 123 countries who are parties to the International Criminal Court, 33 are African states.

Turkey rejected the demand of the International Criminal Court to arrest and extradite Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir during his visit to Istanbul to attend the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, the country's mediaÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by different parties including the US military and CIA servicemen on the territory of Afghanistan and other countries since 2003. RIA Novosti political observer Vladimir Ardaev posed the question whatÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

In this November 29, 2017 file photo, Bosnian people watch the live TV broadcast from the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague as Slobodan Praljak brings a bottle to his lips, in southern Bosnian town of Mostar 140 kms south of Sarajevo, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

In this November 29, 2017 file photo, Bosnian people watch the live TV broadcast from the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague as Slobodan Praljak brings a bottle to his lips, in southern Bosnian town of Mostar 140 kms south of Sarajevo, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

In this November 29, 2017 file photo, Bosnian people watch the live TV broadcast from the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague as Slobodan Praljak brings a bottle to his lips, in southern Bosnian town of Mostar 140 kms south of Sarajevo, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

But such a flurry of announcements mainly testifies to the impasse at which the court finds itself. On Nov. 20, after 11 desperately long years conducting a "preliminary examination," Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, formally requested authorization to investigate war crimesÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

United Nations (AP) -- The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Tuesday accused some of its members, including Jordan, Uganda and Chad, of undermining the tribunal's "reputation and credibility" by refusing to arrest Sudan's president to face charges of genocide in his country's DarfurÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

the Pentagon has reasserted its commitment to complying with the laws of war, after news emerged that the International Criminal Court is seeking an investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. Pentagon spokesman Mike Andrews, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, told VOAÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Judge Cuno Tarfusser (C), Judge Chang-ho Chung (R) and Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambautat (L) issue a ruling on South Africa's failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a three-day visit in June 2015, during a session of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands,ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...

Yesterday Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa won a gruelling round to the International Criminal Court for a nine-year term. She joins Justice Julia Ssebutinde at The Hague whose term at the International Court Of Justice runs through 2019. Both victories have partly come at the hands of an understated, butÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â ...